Which Social Media Platforms are Right for Your Brand?

In the ever-changing world of social media, it can be difficult to determine which platforms make sense for your business to be active on. You’ve probably heard a lot ofbuzz about Snapchat recently – does that mean your brand should establish an account there? Not so fast. Before you move forward, it’s time to do some thinking.

It’s also OK to be selective. Brands have limited resources, and it’s better to do social well on two or three key platforms then stretch yourself thin and try to take on too much content writing at once.

Before checking out our insights below, consider your marketing goals, and pain points that you’re looking to solve by using social media. Is customer service an issue for your brand, and it would help to address comments quickly via social? Are you interested in paid social efforts to secure quality lead-gen or drive traffic online? Maybe you’re struggling with brand awareness and might want to consider a social media influencer program? Keep those thoughts in mind as we dive in.

From lead-gen to encouraging online engagement, paid social targeting is arguably the most advanced on Facebook. It’s also the most cost effective.

Facebook is constantly innovating, to bring marketers the best tools possible.AdWeek has noted that Facebook rolls out new targeting methods and ad formats faster than any other platform. Using trendy Facebook tools like Facebook Live enables brands to connect with users in new and exciting ways.

Twitter

Is Twitter Right for My Brand?

If your business struggles to address customer service complaints, Twitter is the place to be. It is arguably the best platform for customer service, as it moves in real time. And good social customer service is good for business overall – Twitter has sharedresearch that demonstrates that after customers receive a positive response on the site, 77% of users feel more positively towards that business.

Perfect platform for live updates from events and key trade shows – or for breaking news updates that may impact your customers.

While Twitter targeting is less precise than Facebook, the ability totarget trending hashtags to get more involved in conversations that matter to your brand is important. It enables businesses to reach a highly engaged audience by targeting consumers who mention relevant phrases.

Despite what you might have heard, Twitter isn’t dying. In fact, they’re bouncing back – with ahealthy spurt of user activity in the first quarter of 2017 that has Wall Street buzzing.

Instagram

Is Instagram Right for My Brand?

Instagram is the ideal platform for targeting a younger audience. While this is starting to change as older users also embrace the platform,currently the most active Instagram user is between the ages of 18-29.

If your product or service can be cleanly and compelling portrayed through beautiful images and video, Instagram is the place to be. Strong visuals are a must for this platform, but the benefits are big for brands who have those on hand.

Great spot for running influencer campaigns, and that’s important given85% of consumers trust content generated by others more than they trust the content produced by brands. Instagram is a hot spot for influencer recommendations, and it’s highly effective way to increase brand awareness and drive more sales.

LinkedIn

Is LinkedIn Right for My Brand?

If you’re looking to target B2B, having a LinkedIn presence is a best practice. With more than467 million users, LinkedIn remains the world’s largest professional network.

Great platform to get your executives involved in marketing the company – through tools like LinkedIn Pulse, running dynamic and impactful thought leadership campaigns is easier than ever.

While Facebook is a good fit for targeting B2B via paid advertising, LinkedIn has its merits as well, which you can read about on Matter’s bloghere. The platform is also stepping up its game on the paid side– with a recent major announcement aboutmatched audiences, which allows companies to target people based on proprietary company data, such as website visitors or an email list. This is a more accurate way of targeting people through social advertising, and highly impactful in terms of generating new business leads.

SnapChat

Is Snapchat Right for My Brand?

Snapchat is more relevant for B2C brands, who are able to share lots of newsworthy, sharable content.

The platform offers a high daily use rate (over 158 million daily users, with users checking the app an average of 18 times per day!), however users are primarily still focused on snaps from their friends. It takes a highly creative, impactful strategy to break through the noise as a brand.

Snapchat can be a strong platform if you’re considering influencer programs.

It offers many advertising options to choose from, with dynamic options like long form video and “sponsored lenses” – though advertising can be cost prohibitive.

Pinterest

Is Pinterest Right for My Brand?

Pinterest is a little bit of an oddball as it’s more of a personal tool than a social one. Consumers use Pinterest to set up boards of beautiful images related to their hobbies or passions – from cooking, to fashion to DIY tips. It’s helpful to think of it as an image repository or gallery for your brand.

Pinterest is a perfect fit for consumer brands who fit into Pinterest’s most trendy topics (food, wedding, fashion, home improvement). There’s buying potential on Pinterest – a 2015 study demonstrated that 93% of survey respondents who used Pinterest regularly said they use Pinterest to plan for purchases, and another 87% reported site engagement helped them decide what to purchase.

If your brand is considering getting active on social media, and wondering which platforms to use – or if you’re considering launching a new presence – now is definitely the time. Today, social media usage is at an all-time high –seven-in-ten Americans use social media, according to the Pew Research Center. While different platforms serve different purposes, social in general is a highly effective, cost-efficient way to get more eyes on your company’s products and services.

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